James Reyne

James Reyne
James Reyne in 2008
Background information
Birth name	James Michael Nugent Reyne
Born	(1957-05-19) 19 May 1957 (age 59) Lagos, Nigeria
Origin	Australia
Genres	Rock, folk rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer-songwriter,
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, piano, harmonica
Years active	1975–current
Labels	Geffen, Virgin, Liberation
Associated acts	Spiff Rouch, Clutch Cargo, Australian Crawl
Website	jamesreyne.com.au

James Reyne OAM (born James Michael Nugent Reyne on 19 May 1957 in Lagos, Nigeria) is an Australian rock musician and singer/songwriter both in solo work and, until 1986, with the band Australian Crawl.

Reyne was born in Lagos, Nigeria to an Australian mother and English diplomat father. The family moved to Victoria, Australia in the early 1960s. Reyne lived in Mount Eliza, Victoria, was educated at The Peninsula School and studied drama at the Victorian College of Arts. He formed a band called Spiff Rouch containing fellow locals Bill McDonough, Guy McDonough, Brad Robinson, Paul Williams, Robert Walker, Mark Hudson and Simon Binks. By early 1978, Spiff Rouch had split with Reyne to form Clutch Cargo with Binks, Robinson, Williams and his younger brother David Reyne.

In late 1978, Clutch Cargo was renamed Australian Crawl and started to gain popularity on the pub circuit. David Reyne left to continue an acting course and was replaced by Bill McDonough. Australian Crawl made a memorable debut on the Countdown TV show. Reyne performed with both arms in plaster casts, a result of injuries sustained after being hit by a car. The band went on to sell more than one million albums in Australia in the 1980s. Their most popular songs are "Reckless", "Beautiful People", "Errol", "The Boys Light Up", "Things Don't Seem", "Oh No Not You Again" and "Downhearted". They were voted Countdown 1981 Most Popular Group, and Reyne was 1980 and 1981 Most Popular Male Performer. After the band split up in 1986, Reyne went on to a successful solo career.